The Spellfire Saga, Volume Zero: Roots
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: Ever skipped a x-over series 'cuz you weren't familiar with one or more of the titles? I pray that you won't do so with this one, so come on in, pull up a chair, and enjoy. 'YYH x YGO x Ronin Warriors' Please see inside for disclaimer! Thank you. COMPLETE
1. 01 Roots of the Matter

Disclaimer to the FFnet staff and those who might report this to them: I humbly submit that, while this is not a work of fiction in and of itself, I am offering it for readers of my crossover series who may not be familiar with one or more of the involved titles, so that hopefully they may still enjoy my fan fictions rather than skip them over. If there is a serious problem with this or you have a suggestion for how better to handle this, please let me know! I am a very open-minded person and eager to work things out when/if there is conflict. Thank you. DD

Hey, everyone! How many of you have skipped reading a series because you were not familiar with one or more of the involved anime titles? ((DD raises her hand)) Oh, come on, now, people! I _can't_ be the only one!

Well, at any rate, this first "volume" of the saga is numbered "Zero" because it technically isn't a fic. I repeat – DON'T REPORT ME FOR PLAGERISM CUZ I'M NOT CLAIMING THE FOLLOWING FILES AS ORIGINAL. ((phew)) Was that loud enough? LOL The three files following this one are summaries of the three titles involved in my saga: Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Ronin Warriors (aka, Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers). I want people to read my stories even if they are not familiar with one (or any) of these titles. Obviously, of course, the down side to this is that there are SPOILERS for different parts of the three series as I give you information on what has happened for each cast up to the start of the saga. For instance, you get a brief overview of the whole Ronin Warriors series as well as a glimpse at the OVA, "Gaiden," while Yu-Gi-Oh! takes you up to the very beginning of Battle City, which is smack in the middle of the series. Yusuke and company only weeks ago survived the Dark Martial Arts Tournament but Sensui's activities have not yet begun. On the other hand, Yakumo HAS made his attempt on the Human Realm, a la the movie "Poltergeist Report: Bonds of Fire."

Even if you are familiar with one or more of these titles, I encourage you at least to glance over the following files. Besides having taken me forever to write ((grin)), I have also included information of how/where the Spellfire Saga diverges from the canon (like why Shuten did not perish completely when he freed Lady Kayura) or how the original Japanese canon is different from the information as we're given it in the dubs (like how Atsuko knows the truth of her son Yusuke's real occupation and why Kaiba is not quite the infernal ass 4Kids made him out to be in the dub script ((grrr)).) My original details are very clear from the canon material in these following files so, again, there is nowhere in here that I am claiming anything I don't own! _If there is a question!please! ask me before you flame me or (FFnet staff) remove me from your system._

After these, however, if you can't tell canon from original in the body of my stories themselves, I've done my job well. I've been working very hard to blend everything as seamlessly as possible so I hope you enjoy! Again, give all of the following files at least a once-over and I'll talk to you again at the beginning of "The Spellfire Saga – Volume One: Shards."

Jaa, ato de!

DragonDancer5150


	2. 02 Yu Yu Hakusho

Disclaimer to the FFnet staff and those who might report this to them: I humbly submit that, while this is not a work of fiction in and of itself, I am offering it for readers of my crossover series who may not be familiar with one or more of the involved titles, so that hopefully they may still enjoy my fan fictions rather than skip them over. If there is a serious problem with this or you have a suggestion for how better to handle this, please let me know! I am a very open-minded person and eager to work things out when/if there is conflict. Thank you. DD

Yu Yu Hakusho - The series actually begins with the death of the hero! Yep, that's what I said. Urameshi Yusuke, 14, was hit by a car when he did a flying tackle to knock a child, who'd wandered into the street, out away from on-coming traffic. As the ill-tempered juvenile delinquent's death was completely unforeseen by the Spirit Realm (who would've thought such a rotten boy would do such a good and selfless deed?!), no one knew quite what to do with him. Lord Koenma, ruler of the Spirit Realm inasmuch as it pertains to the Human Realm (he is son of Emperor Enma, true ruler of Spirit Realm), decided to test the boy and grant him back his life if he succeeded. Yusuke passed and regained his life - as a Spirit Detective, a sort of "cop" for the Spirit Realm who captures youkai from the Demon Realm (a.k.a. Makai) who escape into the Human Realm where they are not allowed to be. It was in his very first mission, in fact, that he was first introduced to two who would become very dear friends of his - Hiei and Kurama - when he was sent after them and another for a theft of powerful items from Spirit Realm. My fic, "Partners, Friends" can give you more detail about that, at least from the youkais' point of view.

Anyway, Yusuke has some neat powers that he can call upon using his Reiki ("spirit energy", specifically "human spirit energy" - "youkai energy" is called Yoki). He can gather it into his right index finger and shoot it like the bullet of a gun (his trademark Spirit Gun). He can concentrate it into his fists or feet to enhance the damage dealt to an opponent by a punch or kick. He can deflect air-born weapons (anything from arrows to rocks and even bullets!). He's got a head thicker than concrete (both physically and figuratively speaking)! He's supernaturally strong and tough, able withstand far more damage than any normal human could ever hope to. By the beginning of this crossover series, he is 15.

His closest friend is Kuwabara Kazuma, same age and also human. Kuwabara is a powerful psychic who quickly learned to harness his own abilities once association with his best friend began to prove hazardous to his health ((grin)). He is highly sensitive to the supernatural (e.g. sixth sense, presence sense) and can produce an energy sword with his Reiki (his trademark Spirit Sword). He is often taken for the stereotypical "big, dumb ox" of the series. While he is definitely the comic-relief character of the show, he's not stupid (just lacking in common sense sometimes! ((grin)). He and Hiei are often at odds verbally as the latter is prone to comment on his clumsiness and lack of tact, at best.

Hiei is a youkai - poorly translated as "demon" or sometimes "apparition," a supernatural being originating from the Demon Realm. He is a master swordsman and trained assassin, inhumanly fast and very powerful. Those who cross him do not live long enough to regret it. He is also a possessor and wielder of a Jagan - a mystical third eye implanted in his forehead. Through it, he has a whole discipline of supernatural abilities and mystical energy attacks he can call upon, including his infamous Black Dragon Wave. It is an immensely powerful offense that summons a dragon of pure black energy from the hell-fires of a deep level of the Demon Realm. It is not an attack he uses lightly, however, as it leaves him completely drained of energy and knocks him unconscious for a period of time after the attack is completed. He is well into his 500's in age. Because of a harsh background, he does not trust easily (to say the least!!). His closest friend, Kurama, is perhaps the only one who has ever truly understood him.

The fourth of the core group is Kurama. Known among humans as Minamino Shuichi, he is actually a blend of human and youkai. As a full-blooded youkai, he was a "youko" or fox spirit. He was also a notorious thief, known throughout the lands of the Demon Realm. Then, mortally wounded by a powerful bounty hunter (it was actually one of the Spirit Realm's Special Defense Squad members, Shunjun – or so the guy likes to boast), Kurama's only means of survival was to take a spirit form and flee to the Human Realm, find an unborn infant with which to merge, and recover in the form and guise of a human. It would take him 10 years to completely regain his memories, skills, and powers, at which point he could return to the Demon Realm. I guess-timate him between 1,200 and 1,500 years in age at that time. He is known to be _at least_ 1,000 years old according to one event from his past which took place that long ago and he was well established by then. By the beginning of my saga, his physical body is 16 and he is still living as a human, having found a world and a way of life far different and - in his eyes - better than the one he left behind. He is perhaps best known for his ability to manipulate and control plant life of all kinds and his trademark weapon is the Rose Whip, fashioned from an ordinary rose transformed by the power of his Yoki. Though he is half-human, Spirit Realm classifies him as a youkai but he and his "partner-in-crime," Hiei, have special permission to remain in the Human Realm, serving Lord Koenma as Spirit Realm Detectives alongside their human counterparts. Each possesses an artifact, called a periphery key, which allows him to open a dimensional doorway from any of the Three Realms (Human, Spirit, Demon) to any other as needed for their duties. (Again, I refer you to my fic "Partners, Friends," for more information on this. The periphery keys are a creation of mine.)

Near-constant companion of the foursome is Botan, a ferry girl of the Spirit Realm, an Astral being who is capable of taking a physical form. Until recently, her "life" (I don't know how she would be classified, strictly speaking) was rather simple - escort the spirits of the human dead along the river Sanzu to the Gate of Judgment in the Spirit Realm. She had other odd duties but this was her main one - until she was sent to deal with Yusuke upon his death in the car accident. When he became Spirit Detective, she was assigned by Lord Koenma to be his assistant and his contact to the Spirit Realm. She has since come to know him and the other three as dear friends and does all she can to help them - although her light-blue hair must be the Spirit Realm's equivalent of being blonde because she can be quite clumsy and scatterbrained at times. However, she means well and is far more of an asset to the group than a hindrance.

Around the same time that Yusuke was first sent after Hiei and Kurama, Kuwabara started to become more and more aware of the supernatural, first displaying an ability to see things normal humans (and even Yusuke) could not. He joined Yusuke actually by accident on the next assignment and was thereby rather inducted as an unofficial detective himself. It was during this that he also first manifested his Spirit Sword. Then a threat arose in the Demon Realm for which Yusuke was called into action and Kuwabara followed. The two humans, still relatively new to their powers, were not going to be able to handle the situation alone, however - they would need help. Lord Koenma sent Kurama and Hiei to back them up. Again, the story of this is told in "Partners, Friends," though from Kurama and Hiei's points of view (the TV series focuses on Yusuke). One of Yusuke's next assignments was a little different - the rescue of a youkai from a rich, ugly human. The youkai in question was a koorime or "Ice Maiden" named Yukina. She was also Hiei's twin sister! (She is far closer to her mother's people in appearance and ability than her brother is.) The girl was successfully rescued (my fic, "What Goes Around . . . " inserts at this point) but the demonic villains Yusuke and Kuwabara defeated to do so were not killed, having faked their deaths and in fact purposefully throwing the fight, having been paid off by one of the tyrant's business partners. The Toguro brothers, however, wanted a rematch with Yusuke and his companions that would be a fight for real. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei were "invited" to participate in an event known as the Dark Martial Arts Tournament. Now, by being "invited," I mean that they were given no choice, not if they wanted to keep their lives. Team Urameshi managed to survive a long and grueling series of fights over several days, finally facing Team Toguro in the final round. I'm sure it's not giving anything away to say that they did win the round and therefore the Dark Tournament. However, it is an exciting and harrowing series of team and one-on-one fights that are very much worth watching even knowing the ultimate outcome.

There are two major story arcs in the series after the Dark Tournament which will not have occurred yet by the beginning of my Spellfire Saga. These are the Sensui Saga, also known as "Chapter Black," and the Makai Tournament or "Saga of the Three Kings." Presumably after these is when the events of the movie "Bonds of Fire" occur. The US release of the movie is better known as "The Poltergeist Report" which is really just one possible translation of the series' title, "Yu Yu Hakusho." For my saga, these events take place several days to some weeks after the end of the Dark Tournament. Because these events have bearing on my series, I will summarize the plot where I am not with the Sensui Saga and the Makai Tournament.

Ages ago, there were not three but four Realms. Still existing are the Human, Demon, and Spirit Realms. As the Spirit Realm exists "above" the Human Realm, above the Demon Realm once existed the Nether Realm. In a time so long ago only Emperor Enma himself remembers, there was a war between the Spirit and Nether Realms over control of the Human Realm. In this war, the Nether Realm was completely destroyed and its ruler, Lord Yakumo, and his three "demon gods" were cast into a prison in the cold darkness of deep space. Over the ages, the seal on the prison weakened until its captives were able to escape altogether. The Spirit Realm was attacked, completely submerged under water, but not before Lord Koenma sent Botan to the Human Realm to find Yusuke. With her, he sent a powerful artifact of pure Nether energy known only as the Power Sphere. With its power, Yakumo could recreate the Nether Realm in the Human Realm. Yakumo did eventually regain possession of the Power Sphere but Yusuke and company defeated him after a long, brutal battle, destroying both him and the sphere for good.

Each of Yakumo's demon gods were dealt with before this final confrontation but the only one which really has bearing for my saga is the one whose chosen target was Kurama. Unbeknownst to Kurama, the creature searched his memories, able to take the form of whatever person or creature from his past could best be used against him. Sometime before Kurama's near-death and flight into the Human Realm, he had a partner-in-crime, a koumori or bat-spirit by the name of Kuronue. Besides being a fellow thief, Kuronue was a close friend of Kurama's until his death in a lethal trap while they were escaping a heist. Even after sixteen years recovering as a human, Kurama's memories were not perfectly complete as a figure stepped from the shadows and cursed him as a traitor. This "Kuronue," really the demon god, confronted Kurama twice, accusing him of purposefully tricking the koumori into the trap to save his own hide. Of course, the subtly mind-altering mists and low, hypnotic tones that always accompanied the demon's appearance did not help Kurama any. It was not until the false Kuronue closed for the final kill that Kurama could even bring himself to do more than defend as he desperately tried to remember the truth. Before leaping in, the imposter threw a pendant at Kurama, aiming to distract him. This necklace was one he had been dangling and toying with each time they met and was the one thing Kurama did remember about his old partner with clear certainty. Kuronue was never without that pendant and would never have thrown it away. It was losing the pendant that had lured him into the trap to begin with. The unexpected action now was what snapped Kurama free of the deception, allowing him to remember Kuronue's true words yelling at him to run, to save himself, that day he had been forced to leave his best friend behind. With that, he found the strength to retaliate, killing the imposter. Though it is not clear in the movie, I would imagine Kurama kept the necklace to remember his old friend, even if it was not the genuine artifact.

My saga picks up just a few days after these events.

Oh! Really quick, there are a handful of other characters you need to know about, though they are generally more support cast. First of all, there is Yukimura Keiko, Yusuke's girlfriend. She is a straight-A student (or at least the equivalent in the Japanese school system; don't know exactly how their grading works), good-natured, compassionate, and always worried about her boyfriend, whom she has known since both were small children. Keiko is very often seen with a little blue cross between a teddy bear and a penguin with beady black eyes, a black tuft of hair on the top of his head, little bitty forearms/wings, long floppy ears with which he flies, and yellow beak and feet. He is Puu, Yusuke's Spirit Beast, a creature bound to his soul. They reflect one another and are intimately connected. What one feels or experiences, the other knows instantly. Also seen hanging with the company from time to time is Kuwabara's older sister, Kuwabara Shizuru - a no-nonsense young woman who has no problem taking care of herself. She's even capable of beating the dog-snot out of her younger brother! Of course, it helps that Kuwabara's manly honor code won't allow him to raise a hand to a girl - any girl. Then there is Kuwabara's one-true-love (most the rest of the group can only roll their eyes) - Hiei's twin sister, Yukina. Both Yukina and Kuwabara are unaware of her relation to Hiei - at Hiei's strong "request" to the rest of the company who do know. She is as opposite from her brother as one could ask for - kind, innocent, sweet, naive, compassionate, gentle, and a skilled healer. Oh, did I mention naive? LOL Anyway, Kuwabara is head-over-heels for Yukina, declaring their love and what-not at every chance he gets. She likes him and thinks he's funny, not quite understanding him. Did I mention naive?

Lord Koenma himself deserves mention here as well. Koenma is the son of Emperor Enma. In fact, his name literally translates as "Enma Jr." For most of the series, he appears as a toddler - complete with pacifier, in fact (what no one knows is that the baby-toy is far more than it would seem . . . ). For much of the early parts of the series, his behavior actually befits his appearance - bossy, temperamental, prone to fits when he doesn't get his way. A growing friendship with his Spirit Detective and the rest of the gang, however, is not without its affects on the "young" ruler (he's only in his 700's, after all ((grin)). His growth as a character is even more marked as he watched his friends face the perils of the Dark Tournament, standing by their side himself by the end of it. He is able to take an alternate form, that of a handsome young teenager (still complete with pacifier!! LOL), which he uses more and more throughout the tournament. Personally, I think this has some reflection on the mental and emotional growth he is going through. Until Yusuke, he did not have a lot of personal contact with people outside of his father and some of the ferry girls and oni (Japanese ogres) who work for him. Dealing first with the irreverent Yusuke (who has done quite a bit of growing up himself), then more seriously with his Spirit Detective's foes, have forced a maturity from Koenma that he had not had to deal with before. I intend to further explore this during the course of my saga.

Other important secondary characters include Master Genkai, human. She is a sort of hermit-monk martial arts master who also is a powerful user of Reiki ("human spirit energy"). She is Yusuke's mentor in the use of his own Reiki in combat, training him in her personal style of fighting known (at least in English) as the Spirit Wave techniques. She is not one to cross, being an exceedingly formidable combatant herself in spite of her advanced age and diminutive size (she can't be over 3½ feet tall!). She maintains a shrine-like retreat in the mountains. People sometimes come to her for advice or if they are experiencing strange powers. Kuwabara Shizuru, who is an able psychic like her brother though more on the sensitive than physical side, is a long-time friend of Genkai's. It was she who suggested Kuwabara see Genkai when his powers began to manifest in earnest.

The last two who will be making appearances on and off in the series are Urameshi Atsuko, Yusuke's non-working, alcoholic, party-girl mother (she had Yusuke too young and part of her has never quite grown up, though she really does love her son and wants the best for him) and Minamino Shiori, Kurama's human mother, a hardworking single parent who is very close to her son, though she does not know the truth of her son's nature. She is engaged to be married.

Oh! One pretty important difference from the anime is one I found in the manga. In the anime, Atsuko does not know about the truth of her son, either, as a Spirit Realm Detective. She was passed out in a drunken stupor when Keiko and Shizuru confronted Botan about where their boyfriend and brother had disappeared to and thus found out about the Dark Tournament and the truth about the two and about the Realms. In the manga, Atsuko was right there beside the two girls and therefore was also present for the whole Dark Tournament story arc. For my saga, I will be dealing with Atsuko from this angle, that she knows the truth rather than having no clue as she continues to do in the anime.


	3. 03 YuGiOh!

Disclaimer to the FFnet staff and those who might report this to them: I humbly submit that, while this is not a work of fiction in and of itself, I am offering it for readers of my crossover series who may not be familiar with one or more of the involved titles, so that hopefully they may still enjoy my fan fictions rather than skip them over. If there is a serious problem with this or you have a suggestion for how better to handle this, please let me know! I am a very open-minded person and eager to work things out when/if there is conflict. Thank you. DD

Yu-Gi-Oh! – In the 1960's, one could find grand adventure and excitement if one only knew where to look. For an impetuous Japanese gambler by the name of Mutou Sugoroku, that ultimately meant going deep into the sands of Egypt, to the timeless Valley of the Kings.

Over time, more than 60 tombs had been discovered, most of them ransacked of their fabulous wealth. There remained, however, one tomb no graverobber or archaeologist had ever penetrated – The Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. All that had been gleaned from extensive study was that he lived sometime in the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, 1,000 years before the birth of Christianity's Jesus. Not even the years of his reign could be pinpointed nor could his father or a son be determined to attempt to place his own time on the throne. His rule was short-lived at best and, for unknown reason, every last trace of his existence had been successfully wiped from the annals of history. All that remained was his impenetrable tomb, on which a British royal archaeologist from the turn of the century had only one comment with his dying breath – "the Shadow Games."

The tomb itself was a work of genius – a lethal maze of supernatural puzzles and games no one had ever survived. It was that challenge that Sugoroku sought, being as yet undefeated. In fact, he had gone so far as to have sworn to himself that the day he ever _did_ lose a game was the day he traded his tuxedo for denim overalls and collected years instead of gambling chips. To date, he had never lost a single game – nor would he lose that night. The reason he gave his two companions was one he had developed over the years –

"Shows what you know," he had replied to the comment that a tux hardly suited one for grave-robbing. "Games are my life. Cards . . . chess . . . I've spent my life in gambling dens and casino cruises and I _always_ treat my opponents with respect." He knew even then that he was preaching to a brick wall for all that his companions believed him, but it was the truth nonetheless. Though it applied to every kind of game whether it involved cards or not, it was a belief he had developed first at the gambling tables and so referred to as "The Heart of the Cards" – a belief he would later pass on to his grandson and in ways he could never have imagined, though it all began that fateful night.

His companions were a pair of grave-robbing brothers he had hired to lead him to the Nameless Pharaoh's Tomb. In return, they got whatever treasure they found within. Sugoroku truly was not interested in the treasure. He would never forget his thoughts that night as he prepared himself for what lay ahead – "I've traveled the world, defeating _every_ opponent at _any_ game I played. There's a legend in the game world of a hidden 'game room' in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Untold honor awaits the one who conquers the most dangerous tomb in all of history . . . Here is a puzzle that no one has ever solved! A challenge of honor!!" Had he known what his actions that night would mean for his only grandchild, 30 years later, would he have gone through with that challenge? He would always wonder though he could not fully regret, fearing that Fate had been conspiring against him and his grandson all along.

The Lady Luck smiled on him that night all the same, and Sugoroku navigated the labyrinth successfully, though his companion's dark and greedy hearts cost them their lives to the "Shadow Games." There was a chamber beyond, but he did not bother to explore. He had done what he came to do, taking as a token a small box of solid gold within which lay a collection of golden, angular objects – a three-dimensional puzzle of some kind. The only clues were in the hieroglyphics on the sides. One set was a riddle, one that would come back to haunt and to support time and time again – "something that can be shown but not seen." On the front, around the Eye of Horus, read, "The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness."

Thirty years later, at seven years old, Sugoroku's grandson found the box hidden back in a corner of his grandfather's game shop while playing one day. Having inherited his grandfather's skills and affinity for games and puzzles of all kinds, he claimed the box for his own, determining to solve what his grandfather told him was called the Millennium Puzzle. Sugoroku had tried half-heartedly to keep the Puzzle from the child, but it was the only thing his grandson had ever asked of him and he just did not have the heart really to take it back. Perhaps that was also part of Fate's game. Besides, he felt fairly sure that the boy would never solve the Puzzle.

For the next eight years, though he put his heart and soul into the attempts, Mutou Yugi could not solve the Puzzle, and even his Grandpa finally began to root for him in secret. Yugi did not know what could be "shown but not seen" and could not read the hieroglyphs on the front – he eventually stopped asking when Grandpa refused for years to tell him – but he felt sure that it said something like, "Whoever solves this puzzle will be granted one wish." Whether or not it truly said such a thing did not matter. He knew what his wish was and felt sure that it would be granted if only he could solve the puzzle.

Yugi wished for friends. Even as a first-year in high school, he never had many real friends. He had known Mazaki Anzu since they were in elementary school but even she saw him as something of a "little kid," even at fifteen. One could hardly blame her, either. He was no taller than a middle-schooler, his physical growth severely stunted. Because of it, he was self-conscious and painfully shy, playing alone with his puzzles and games when he was not the subject of cruel bullying by the bigger kids.

Then, one night, he solved the Millennium Puzzle . . .

Yugi went through periods of blackouts in his memory at times, starting the night he solved the Puzzle at last. Just earlier that day, a big thug of a bully had beaten him up for standing up for two others who had harassed him themselves mere hours before. Those two had really only wanted to help toughen him up, teach him to be a man, but the thug was looking for money and willing to go to awful lengths to get it. That night, Yugi solved the Puzzle . . . and remembered no more until morning. No one could tell what had happened to the thug when he was found the next morning in a pile of leaves and garbage, ecstatic over all the money he thought he had. He was taken away to a mental hospital.

Yugi had awakened a spirit residing in the Puzzle, a spirit who responded to injustices it sensed that threatened Yugi or his friends. At first, this spirit only revealed itself in secret, dealing justice to wrongdoers in the form of various games of chance and power – "Shadow Games." Even Yugi remained unaware of the spirit's presence for a long time, nor did the spirit seem much cognizant itself of the other, primary soul residing in the host body. It was an avenging ghost, taking care of the bad guys as necessitated and withdrawing when the matter had been resolved. In time, however, the spirit would come into its own . . .

The primary cast of the series includes Mutou Yugi, 17, third-year high schooler and keeper of the Millennium Puzzle, which holds a power to draw together those around it. He has learned that it is but one of a set of seven Millennium Items – a Scale with the power to weigh a person's soul and expose lies; an ankh-shaped Key which could allow a person to step mentally into another's mind (his/her Soul Room) and even effect changes that can control that one's mind and behavior; a Ring which, among other things, could seal a person's soul into a shaped object; an Eye with the power to see into a person's mind and thoughts; a Torc (type of necklace) which could read visions of the future as well as bring forth memories of the past; and a Rod or Scepter with the power to control a person's memories and mind. Actually, Yugi is on the verge of learning of the Rod's existence, as the Spellfire Saga picks up on the eve of Kaiba Corp's Battle City Duel Monsters Tournament . . .

After solving the Puzzle, Yugi made the friends he so desperately longed for, though it would become a point of minor debate between him and another (the spirit) whether this was because of the Puzzle's power or his own gentle and caring heart. Yugi's closest friends are Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu (known in the dub as Joey, Tristan, and Téa, respectively) and Bakura. By canon, they are all 16 at the start of the tournament, and I am guessing that there is probably a year-and-a-half, at least, from the start of the series up to the "Battle City" story arc, but I have constricted the timeframe down to under a year. They are all 17 at the start of the Spellfire Saga.

Jonouchi Katsuya was more of a street brawler than anything before befriending Yugi – proud, boastful and hot-headed (still is, to an extent). His parents are divorced, his little sister Shizuka taken from him when his mother left, leaving him with his alcoholic, gambling (and probably, I wouldn't be surprised, abusive) father. Jonouchi has special permission from the school to hold part-time jobs to try to pay off his father's debts and keep the collectors at bay (many schools actively forbid their students from working, believing that it detracts from their studies). He still maintains the dream of seeing his fractured family whole again one day.

Honda Hiroto has been Jonouchi's buddy since middle school, often bailing Jou out of a fight when his pride and his mouth gets him in up to his teeth. Steadfast and level-headed, Honda can be the voice of reason of the group - when he isn't picking on and insulting Jonouchi in that way only close male friends can do. On one occasion in the anime, he and Jou get into one of their usual spats, wrestling and hurling insults, and Yugi starts to ask them not to fight, but Anzu says to just let them go at it, that it's their bizarre (read: 'macho') way of showing each other that they care. Yugi just hopes that they don't care for _him_ like that!

Mazaki Anzu is a bright, sweet girl with quite a feisty side to her. She's not a fighter in any sense but she won't run, either, keeping up with her male friends rather admirably – even managing to keep them in line at times. Her unwavering belief in her friends is often their strength. She has known Yugi the longest, though to this day she is unaware of the crush he has had on her since elementary school. Instead, she is smitten with another, the "other Yugi." Anzu aspires to move to New York in America one day to study dance.

Bakura Ryou is a recent transfer student to Domino High School, where the others attend – a well-mannered, soft-spoken and caring boy if a bit of a lovable klutz, shy and self-conscious at times, who honestly does not know what to do about the girls who flock around him due to his looks and sweet nature ("I'm not good with girls"), and is a skilled gamer in his own right, including a card game called Duel Monsters. This is not his first transfer, either, as he has been forced to change schools more than once. In the anime, he does not seem to really meet Yugi and friends until they are already on Duelist Kingdom Island but, in the manga, he is by their side the whole time as a full member of their fellowship. In the manga, he loves a tabletop role-playing game called Monster World . . . but every time he has played, his friends wind up in comas. Even though he tells Yugi and the others of this, saying he does not want to lose any more friends and warning them to stay away from him, they think he just needs cheering up and they show up on his doorstep, suggesting they play his game. Bakura tries to warn them off but, then, Dark Bakura takes over.

Bakura's father brought his son a gift from one of his trips to Egypt, not realizing the power and danger of the item. It was the Millennium Ring. Like the Puzzle, the Ring is possessed by an entity – only this one is cruel, evil and, while he does not remember his roots either, he has been awake and quite active for some time. He is a master in wielding the power of his Item and is more than a little knowledgeable about all seven Millennium Items. He is intent on collecting them, too – starting with Yugi's Puzzle.

When Bakura began to warn his new friends to leave, Dark Bakura took over in time to convince them to stick around. Too late, Yugi and the others realized the trap into which they had walked, when their souls were sealed into their own lead character miniatures. Yugi himself was the last to have his soul separated from his body and Dark Bakura thought the game won – until Yugi proved to have two souls! Yami stepped up to the plate, gaming to save all their souls, including Bakura Ryou's when they discovered that there are two souls in his body as well, warring at that point for control. Bakura has since become a close friend of all of them. He still retains the Millennium Ring and it, in turn – unknown to him or the rest of the group – still retains the spirit of the evil thief intent on owning all seven Millennium Items and the untold power they can unlock when brought together.

The last of the core group – though by no means the least! – is the spirit of the Puzzle himself. He is often referred to in the English dub (_only_ in the English, not the Japanese) as Yami Yugi ("Dark" Yugi). Both versions have also named him Yu-Gi-Oh on occasion. Yugi's name literally means "game" and the kanji "oh" is "king," so Game King or King of Games – and Yami has yet to lose a single one he has played, regardless of how close he has come. So has Yugi, for that matter, completely separate from the spirit. Yugi was unaware of the spirit's presence for some time but eventually began to suspect that another "self," a darker aspect of his soul, resided somewhere within him, awakened by the solving of the Puzzle. He came to realize that the blackouts he experienced were probably the "other him" coming out. It was some time before he became fully aware of his "other self," and even longer before the other self was fully cognizant enough to acknowledge him. Not only have they finally discovered one another over time, they have come to realize that the spirit is not just another aspect of Yugi's character and personality but a separate entity altogether, one who retains absolutely no memory of his own history. Still, Yugi has "known" him as "the Other Me" or "My Other Self," and the rest of the gang have called him "the Other Yugi," for so long that the spirit answers to those without thinking about it – he introduces himself by the name "Yugi" if asked, even though he now understands that's not correct.

(And, yes, I _will_ start calling him Yami myself but –"wait . . . for . . . it . . ." ((grin)) )

Another important character in the series, if a minor one, is Mutou Sugoroku, Yugi's grandfather and owner of the Kame ("Turtle") Game Shop, a small store selling all kinds of old-fashioned games and unique toys, as well as some of the hotter products on the market. The word "game" appears in English over the store front, so I guess the Japanese would pronounce that the "kah-may gah-may" shop? ((shrug)) I don't know. I guess he was finally defeated in a game, though, somewhere along the way, since he has indeed traded that tux for a pair of denim overalls, just like he said he would. As grandfather and grandson share the same family name, I'm guessing that Sugoroku is his paternal grandfather, making Yugi's mother Sugoroku's daughter-in-law. Her name is never given in the manga or anime, so I have named her Michiko on my friend Crystal's (Shadowjack2) suggestion in honor of a dear woman she knew from doing ceramics. The Mutou's home occupies the space behind and above the store in the same, small humble building.

Kaiba Seto is the primary antagonist throughout the series. Who has not heard of the rich kid who wields the immensely powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon? There were only four copies of its card ever printed and he holds three of them. He was the unrivaled champion of Duel Monsters, the card game that runs through the series, until Mutou Yugi defeated him, not once but twice, and would have taken their third game had he not been forced to forfeit. An orphan adopted by a cruel tyrant of a chess master and mogul of a multi-million-dollar munitions manufacturer, 17-year-old Kaiba has since taken over the corporation and completely overhauled it into a massive gaming company. Its crowning achievement has to have been the holographic simulation technology developed alongside American-based Industrial Illusions' wildly popular trading card game, Duel Monsters (originally named "Magic and Wizards" in the manga – yes, in the manga and anime, the card game is actually an American import! LOL Sorry, I just find that ironic and funny, somehow).

Throughout the English-dub scripting of the series, Kaiba absolutely refuses to acknowledge what is right under his nose but, in the original script and especially in the manga, Kaiba is not nearly so self-blinding – or so condescending to Yugi. I will be keeping far closer to his Japanese character than the arrogant ass FUNimation (edit/not/ FUNimation; it was 4Kids) has made him to be. Although Yugi remains a rival in his eyes, Kaiba really has a great deal of respect for him as a fellow duelist (if the _only_ person he respects). During Battle City, he will also come to realize that there are two fully separate and independent souls who inhabit his rival's body – and he will experience for himself the power of the Millennium Items. By canon, at the end of Battle City, he will reach a sort of equilibrium with Yugi and a peace with himself of which many fans who have only had opportunity to follow the show via Cartoon Network may not be aware. That is the direction I will be following with him and carrying further in the Spellfire Saga.

Kaiba Mokuba is Kaiba Seto's little brother, younger by five years. Again, his character saw something of a makeover going into the anime, especially by the dub scripters. Mokuba loves his older brother with all his heart, but he is not at all blind to Kaiba's faults and is often torn between his loyalty to his brother and the friendship he feels towards Yugi and company, having realized the truth of their personalities and recognized their sincerity some time ago. Still, "Big Brother" comes first and always will. He was a pretty brutish little kid when first encountered in the manga but, as with so many around them, Yugi's compassion and Yami's sense of honor left their indelible marks on him, and he has become an influential voice to Kaiba on their behalf.

As a bit of a side note, the name Kaiba mentioned alone always refers to the older brother, Seto. Mokuba is identified by his given name. The same is also true of Jonouchi and Shizuka.

Jonouchi Shizuka is the comely little sister of Jonouchi Katsuya, two years his junior. She has a congenital condition that she has known from birth would eventually take her eyesight. That time finally came and she sent a video letter to her big brother because she could not see him in person "one last time." Jonouchi entered the Duelist Kingdom Tournament alongside Yugi (two months ago according to my modified timeline) to win the prize money to pay for an operation that could save her sight. Between the two of them, they managed to win that prize money and, at the beginning of "Shards," her operation was just yesterday. She will be able to remove her bandages this weekend and she has decided that the first thing she wants to see is her brother dueling in Battle City. Much to his chagrin, Jou's long-time friend Honda has a terrible crush on her, as will one Otogi Ryuuji.

Otogi Ryuuji (Duke Devlin in the dub) is another character who has come to hover around the group, their friendship having surprised and honored him. Though the same age as the rest of the primary cast, and another classmate of theirs, Otogi is also a business owner of a big-ticket gaming store, inherited from his father, selling all the latest and greatest and even owning a few of Kaiba Corp's holographic Solid Vision dueling arenas. Besides Duel Monsters, his arenas are modified to handle also a game of his own creation, Dungeon Dice Monsters. At first, it was feared that the Black Crown gaming store would put little Kame Game out of business, but Otogi and Grandpa have realized that they market to different, if overlapping crowds, so the Kame is safe. When Battle City was first announced, Otogi was in America promoting DDM but has returned to catch the action firsthand. He will meet up with Honda and a bandaged Shizuka who are on their way from the hospital to find her brother in the midst of the tournament.

The last of the secondary characters to be mentioned – though, again, by far not the least – is Kujaku Mai (dub Mai Valentine). Yet again, Mai is someone whose hard shell was cracked by the generosity and sincerity of the core players. Once a sworn loner disillusioned with life in general from a very young age, Mai's only friend was her "Harpy Lady," the central monster card of her Duel Monsters Deck. Then she met fellow Duelists Yugi and Jonouchi, and they have taught her what it is to be wanted and cared for again. Her Dueling skill just about rivals Yugi's and Yami's, and she has a sense of honor they both deeply respect. She and Jonouchi especially have a thing for one another, though it has not developed yet to the point that either is ready to admit to such a crazy thing, let alone act on it.

The "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card game that you and I can go and purchase at any grocery store or game shop actually exists in the series itself, as "Duel Monsters." (No, this is not the same as "Duel _Masters_" which, while I could be sorely mistaken, I strongly suspect is a rip-off of "Yu-Gi-Oh!", published by the same company that produces "Magic: The Gathering.") As I mentioned, Yugi and Kaiba are masters at the game, as are Jonouchi and Mai. Anzu, Bakura and Otogi are really good, too. Yugi's favorite card is a rare "monster" card called the Dark Magician. Now, to say that he is "Dark" does not mean that he is evil, just refers to the element from which he draws his power, the other five being Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Light. In the original Japanese, he is called the Black Magician. Yugi (or rather Yami) is very well known for his use of his favored Dark Magician in a Duel.

Something that Yugi and company are slowly learning more and more about is that the card game "Duel Monsters" is a direct recreation, as a collectible trading card game, of the ancient Shadow Games. Of course, some of the cards such as machine-based cards and cartoon-based cards are (obviously) new creations, but the core cards of the game such as Yugi's Dark Magician and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon were once used in the real duels of old!

Regardless of how fully aware the gang is of the connection their favorite card game has to the Millennium Items, there _is_ a concept in which Yugi believes very strongly – has for some time – and that is the "Heart of the Cards." It's something his grandfather, also a master game player, instilled in him, as I touched on at the beginning. So long as you believe in your cards, they will not let you down. What Yugi – and Yami – do not realize is that they tap into the power of the Shadow Games just a tiny bit when they relies on the Heart of the Cards to see them through an important Duel. Belief in the Heart of the Cards has done such things for them as allowed them to draw exactly the card they need, the only one that can save them, no matter how improbable - even impossible - drawing that very card might have been. Then again, _belief_ is at the heart of any magic ability and spell-casting . . .

Oh, one more thing – with the exception of the concept of the Shadow Realm, I will be sticking closer to the original Japanese material than the American dub. There is no destiny-has-brought-us-together-to-save-the-world-from-utter-destruction talk (heehee – at least not yet!). On the other hand, the original Japanese did not have the Shadow Realm, either. The Shadow _Games_ were games played via the power of a formless Darkness, but the Shadow _Realm_ is a creation of the writers of the dub script. There is an awesome website that summarizes all the episodes and gives great detail (while being respectful to both versions) on the differences between the American and Japanese versions.

In and of itself, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a fabulous storyline that does not _nearly_ get the credit here in America it deserves as something far beyond a little kids' show. I blame FUNimation for that. ((grrr)) (Edit: See below.) I cannot recommend it highly enough if you are not already familiar with the storyline up to or beyond what I have discussed here. Something in the software of this site, fanfiction-net, doesn't like you to put web addresses in the body of text that gets posted in these file sections so I can't post them here (or maybe just haven't figured out how) but if you want some great links, including the one I mentioned above, email me and I'll be happy to share them.

EDIT: Heya! Got an apology to make. I made a wee mistake. I said in the above paragraph that FUNimation edited Yu-Gi-Oh!, and blamed them for some of the complaints I have with the dub version of the series. I know it was done by 4Kids Entertainment, but I was under the impression that 4Kids is a subsidiary or something of FUNimation, so that ultimately it was FUNimation's doing (kinda like anything Touchstone does ultimately goes back to Disney, or something). Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to representatives from FUNimation at Comic-Con International in San Diego (my home town). FUNimation is a distributor as well as production company. They directly produced the _uncut_ Yu-Gi-Oh!'s but were the _distributors_ _only_ of the original edited dub. They are not otherwise associated with 4Kids. So the dub is all on 4Kids Entertainment.

I've added this edit rather than make the correction to my original comments because I wanted to give credit to Pharaonic Wolf for pointing this out to begin with in their review. Thanks, Pharaonic! ((GRIN))


	4. 04 Ronin Warriors YST

Disclaimer to the staff and those who might report this to them: I humbly submit that, while this is not a work of fiction in and of itself, I am offering it for readers of my crossover series who may not be familiar with one or more of the involved titles, so that hopefully they may still enjoy my fan fictions rather than skip them over. If there is a serious problem with this or you have a suggestion for how better to handle this, please let me know! I am a very open-minded person and eager to work things out when/if there is conflict. Thank you. DD

Ronin Warriors - a.k.a. Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers - "Yoroiden" translates as "legend of mystical/magical armor." A thousand years ago, a being of pure evil called Arago attacked the Human Realm, looking to conquer it. No matter how many samurais and other warriors threw themselves at him, no one could stand in his way. Then, someone appeared who could. He was a warrior monk by the name of Kaosu ("the Ancient") and was accompanied by a large white tiger of apparently supernatural origin by the name of Byakuen. Kaosu challenged Arago with his warrior fighting prowess and powerful mystical ability and successfully defeated him, banishing him back to the realm from which he came, called the Youjakai. That translates as "youja realm" just like Ningenkai and Reikai (Human Realm, Spirit Realm) of "Yu Yu Hakusho". A youja, to the best of my understanding, is a type of so-called "demon soldier." I'm positive they are akin to the "youkai" of YYH. They appear as something like empty, animated armors fashioned loosely after the samurai armor style. They are the cannon-fodder of Arago's armies. Anyway, while the realm is referred to as the Youjakai in the original Japanese, in the dub it was renamed "the Netherworld." This will come up in my series.

Arago was banished in spirit from the Human Realm but his physical being - an armor of evil and terrible supernatural material - was left behind. Kaosu knew that as long as it remained, Arago had a means of returning. The vile armor could not be truly destroyed but it could be broken up and reshaped. Through a very powerful, secret ritual, Kaosu separated the armor into nine parts, creating new armors from the whole. The new armors were linked to the four seasons and five elements (fire, water, air, earth, and light/spirit). Into the Seasonal Armors, he imbued the four virtues of the Bushido Code, the code of the samurais - endurance, filial piety (dutiful regard or respect for family and other elders), loyalty, and obedience. The Elemental Armors received the virtues taught by Confucius - righteousness, wisdom, grace/courtesy, trust/faith, and justice. By the instilling of these virtues, the capacity for Good was introduced into these new armors (at least, that's what I figure the reasoning was - it's never really stated. It **is** stated clearly in the course of the series, though, that the Armors have the equal capacity for both . . . but also that their origin as a part of Arago was purely evil, so . . .) These Armors Kaosu took and hid away until such time as Arago made a move again on the Human Realm, at which time he planned them to be the primary weapons against him.

The details of what happened next are fuzzy to me. What I go by, I don't know how much is canon and how much fanfic myth. What is definite is that at some point, I think about 400 years ago, the Seasonal Armors surfaced and their owners were seduced by Arago to serve him in return for power and immortality. The Seasonal Armors fell back into evil, their bearers coming to be known as Arago's Four Demon Generals. They had no idea of the history or true abilities of their Armors. They knew nothing about them being Seasonal in nature and the governing virtues were suppressed. When they joined Arago, he gave them each new names, completely locking away any thoughts of anything outside of himself. Their new names are Shuten (bearer of Spring-loyalty), Rajura (Summer-endurance), Naaza (Autumn-obedience), and Anubisu (Winter-filial piety). Also, sometime during this period of history, there was a raid on a clan of warrior mystics, annihilating every last member but one small girl and the clan's leader - Kaosu the Ancient who, by the way, had somehow survived from a thousand years ago to present time, along with his tiger companion. The little girl, Kayura, was made into another powerful servant of Arago and a leader of his armies, her memories completely suppressed and her abilities controlled by a pendent around her neck.

Fast forward to a little over a year before the start of my saga - Arago did once again return, having achieved enough energy and power to create a weakness between the worlds, appearing in/over Shinjuku which is a district of Tokyo (apparently well-known for supernatural activity even in real life). By this point, the Elemental Armors had come into the possession of chosen bearers - Ryo (Fire-righteousness), Touma (Air-wisdom), Shu (Earth-justice), Seiji (Light/Spirit-grace/courtesy), and Shin (Water-trust/truth).

Although I have striven to stay as close to the original Japanese canon for all three of these series', I _have_ decided to keep the name "Ronin Warriors" for the guys over calling them the "Samurai Troopers." I don't know but that has just never sounded right to me. A "trooper" to me sounds like someone in the Army or about to jump out of a perfectly functional airplane (a la paratrooper), whereas the previous martial arts experiences and training of the group had ranged from highly-skilled to didn't-know-the-business-end-of-a-sword-from-its-hilt before donning the Armors. Also, one who was referred to as a samurai, historically, had a master of some kind, someone he answered to directly (if I'm not mistaken – I know that I easily could be). A samurai who lost having a master by whatever means became a ronin. The guys in the series answer to no one but each other in the sense of being teammates. They would be considered ronins. Also . . . well, heck, it just sounds better/cooler to me. ((grin))

Sanada Ryo (Ryo of the Wildfire) is the passionate and driven leader of the Elemental Ronins. Sometimes hot-tempered and impulsive, he is nonetheless the one to whom the others turn for guidance and unity. He is an intense individual, fiercely loyal and deeply empathetic. He lives by himself except when Dad is home from his wildlife photography excursions, walking nine miles to school each day from his home in the secluded wilds outside of town.

Hashiba Touma (Touma of the Heavens) is the strategist, the tactician of the group. His risks are calculated and never hastily decided upon. He knows what he gets himself into and how to pull himself out (usually). Of course, such an intellect can be isolating as well, and I think we all know or remember how cruel our fellow classmates could be when they decided they had a grudge against you. As the only child of divorced parents, Touma also had no sense of family before uniting with his fellow Ronins. Consequently, he will allow no harm to come to any one of them without a fight.

Mouri Shin (Shin of the Torrent) is the calm peacekeeper of the company – quiet, slow to judge and slower to anger, though heaven help the one who rouses the stormy anger of the sea. Usually easygoing, Shin is the team member who reminds the rest how to relax and put things in perspective. He'll also the first to act, however, if action is necessary. Still, the responsibilities of being a Ronin Warrior probably wear most keenly on him, as he has never been one to fight unless absolutely necessary. He would like nothing better than to never be called to don his Armor again.

Almost as his diametrical opposite, rowdy, fun loving, outgoing Shu Rei Fuan (Shu of HardRock) more than makes up for Shin's reluctance to have to fight. He practically lives for it. He's not the kind to go around picking fights as a bully might, but he won't back down if one happens to present itself, either. Of course, he's got a temper to rival Ryo's sometimes, so those fights present themselves sometimes rather frequently, but he also has a heart of gold. On a bit of a side note, Shu's ethnicity is actually Chinese by canon, not Japanese, though he was born and raised in Japan. It's debatable if his family name is the "Shu" end of that or the "Fuan" end but everyone calls him "Shu," friends, schoolmates and strangers alike, if only because "it sounds more Japanese".

Rounding out the Ronin Elemental Warriors is Date Seiji (Seiji of the Halo). Cool, collected, and genteel, Seiji was raised in the old ways of the honor-bound samurai. His family owns a kendo dojo, of which he is one of the primary instructors after his grandfather and parents. Even at his relatively young age, he is a master kendo champion, the discipline of which permeates every aspect of his life. He is also the group's most psychically active – the most sensitive and the one who understands psionic ways the best.

Two more who deserve mention are two who, unfortunately, often get the short end of the stick in many fanfics as they are very often not taken seriously. For you who know, of course I'm referring to Nasutei and Jun. Nasutei Yagyu (personal/family name) is a young woman a few years older than the guys. She tends to give her name "Western-style" as she was born and raised in France. She had just recently moved to Japan and was living and working with her grandfather as a research assistant at the university when Arago made his appearance. Her grandfather, in turn, was an expert in Japanese mythology, and his research files prove invaluable throughout the series as the guys are forced to learn on the fly about these mysterious armors which they only _just_ acquired before having to put them to use. She is a noncombatant, but she has a courageous heart and will stand firm by her friends' side. Heh, she and Anzu (YGO) have a lot in common that way. On the other hand, Yamano Jun seems like just another rugrat at first glance, zipping around on his ever-present skateboard, but as with everyone in this series, there is more to him than meets the eye. Jun is just as courageous and steadfast as any of the Ronins, despite his age (he was only 8 when the TV series took place). He became embroiled in the war against Arago when his parents disappeared in the first attack and he vowed to rescue them. His antics were often a source of both amusement and exasperation for the Ronins, but his utter belief in them as individuals and as a team quite often was the only thing that kept them focused and believing in themselves when all odds were against them. Many of the discoveries they made regarding the capabilities and full powers of their Armors were because Jun and Nasutei were in danger. If not for the noncombatants and the threats to them, the actual combatants truly would never have gotten where they did.

Lastly, running alongside the Ronin Elementals is an enormous white tiger who is far more than he seems at first glance. Byakuen ("white flame/blaze") is the same tiger we saw standing by Kaosu's side 1,000 years ago when the warrior monk defeated Arago the first time. He is of human intelligence although he does not possess the power of speech. As ancient as he is, however, he still retains the ability to play and quite gamely has been seen performing the position of loyal steed to Jun's fanciful knight-in-shining-armor (Ronin Armor, of course) antics. He plays primarily a support-protect role, keeping Nasutei and Jun out of trouble the best he can and pulling a fallen Ronin out of the thick of combat more than once.

OK, you're being warned now – SPOILERS!! Heh, of course, since my story picks up after the TV series and the OVA "Gaiden", you're gonna get "spoiled" anyway. Still, can't say you weren't warned. I'm going to go on with the rest of the cast.

By the end of the war with Arago, his four Demon Generals realized their errors and the true origins and purpose of their Armors and they, the Ronin Seasonal Warriors, defected to join their Elemental brothers.

The first was Shuten and he actually came around far sooner than his comrades-in-arms (about halfway through the first of the two seasons). Of course, that's fitting since his is the Armor of Spring. By the way, by canon the Armors are never identified by name, so I have named them: Shuten of Verdance, Rajura of AridSand, Naaza of the Harvest, and Anubisu of the Glacier.

Anyway, Shuten of Verdance is the first to renew, to realize that the answers Arago provided him were not the ones he wanted or needed. When Kaosu fell to Arago, sacrificing himself so that his vast energies could directly benefit his fledgling warriors, the Elementals, Shuten took his place as guide for the warriors, though understandably they did not accept him right away. However, he proved himself to them and has gained their complete trust. Of the four, Shuten now is the most soft-spoken and diplomatic, having once been a learned scholar as well as a military general in his time. **Please see below for a note concerning Shuten's freeing of Lady Kayura's mind and spirit and his consequences.**

As summer follows spring, Rajura of AridSand was the second to question his loyalty to Arago, though he did not make nearly the complete turnaround as quickly as Shuten did. Devious and cunning, Rajura is Touma's equal in patience and strategy as well as a master of illusions through the power of his Armor, like a mirage in the desert. Also, he is the Seasonal's equivalent psion to the Elemental's Seiji.

Naaza of the Harvest is arguably the most inhuman of the group, though no longer because of his ruthlessness as a Demon General. Naaza is said to have the blood of an animal spirit, a snake deity, in his veins – and his green hair, green-tinged skin and inhuman eyes certainly would seem to attest to this. (Japanese mythology includes tales of animal spirits who would take human forms to interact with and seduce human mates.) Naaza is a capable leader in his own right, although all the Seasonals defer to Shuten as the leader among the four just as the Elementals follow Ryo.

Anubisu of the Glacier probably gets along best with Shu these days. An impatient, in-your-face kind of fighter, he is most in his element when he is in action, preferably in pitch darkness even now that he's on the side of Good, as that is where his Armor works best. I kinda get the impression about him that he is actually a little awkward and lost when he doesn't have a specific task to accomplish. Canon? Dunno.

Lady Kayura is nothing if not an accomplished swordswoman and capable warrior who routinely took on any two or more of the Elementals by herself and held her own at worst. Like the Ronin Seasonals, Arago's control over her was broken before his demise and she recalled her true origins as descendent of Kaosu the Ancient. **Please see below for a note concerning Shuten's freeing of Lady Kayura's mind and spirit and his consequences**.

It's a great series to which I am doing no justice by not going into further detail but all you need to know for my series is that, after many great trials, the Seasonals realize the truth of the origins of their Armors and their deception by Arago, side with the Elementals and, together with a freed Lady Kayura, defeat and destroy Arago once and for all.

In the series, Shuten dies in the freeing of Lady Kayura and the Armor of Spring goes to her. However, I have a fic I am writing which explains why Shuten did not actually perish – "The Curse of Badamon." By the end of that fic, Shuten's captured soul is restored to his static body and the Armor of Verdance returned to him. Kayura, in turn, takes her place as the heir of Kaosu's heritage and powers, who gave up his life at a key point during the war with Arago. Byakuen has chosen Ryo of the Wildfire to be his new companion, having been with him now actually since some time before the point of the TV series' beginning. Kayura and the Seasonals have chosen to remain in the Youjakai / Netherworld, as the Japan of today is no longer their home.

About a year later (plot of "Gaiden"), Seiji went to New York City in America in answer to a request from a university there asking for a Japanese swordmaster's opinion on an ancient katana that had come into the staff's acquisition. It had the Date family crest and, as Seiji's hobby is swords of all kinds, they contacted him to come assist in their study. It turned out to be a trap laid by an inhuman sorcerer (for the purposes of Spellfire Saga, read that "youkai sorcerer") by the name of Shikaisen, in conjunction with a diabolic human scientist of the paranormal. Together, they tried to control the Armor of Halo through Seiji via drugs, mental games, and torture. Only when Ryo happened to catch a news blurb on TV about a mysterious assailant murdering street thugs – complete with a few photos captured by a freelance photographer of an unmistakable green armor – did the rest of the group realize that their teammate had run afoul of trouble. They rushed to New York, then chased their mysterious enemy to Los Angeles before finally recovering their brother-in-arms.

By canon, that was the end of the story but I have to agree with two fanfic authors who wrote one-shot sequels to "Gaiden" which are really amazing, both of them!! One was written as a self-challenge by its author in response to the open end of the first. I won't spoil the stories but the premise for both is that, after all that Seiji was subjected to, he would not have just been all right. He was physically weakened, injured, and had a number of drugs coursing through his system. The premise of the stories is that Seiji collapsed into a coma and was in the hospital hovering near death for days until . . .

Heh, not gonna tell!! Whether you're a previous Ronin Warrior fan or not, you MUST check out these wonderful fics! They can both be found on Amanda Swiftgold's RW fanfic site. The first is call "Angel Dust" by Minuit and the sequel is "Orpheus" by Icewyche. They are beautifully and powerfully written, both of them, and I include them in my personal fanon for Ronin Warriors. If, for whatever reason, you cannot find them, email me and I will be more than happy to send you the links. Again, I haven't figured out how this software for FFnet to post web addresses (if even possible) or I'd put it here myself. ((grin))

Anyway, at the beginning of "Shards," the guys arrived back just days ago from America, where they had gotten way too familiar with the look of the inside of an LA hospital.

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And so, with no further ado (and much excitement), let me invite you to proceed to "The Spellfire Saga – Volume One: Shards."

EDIT: Hm, let's see if this works – someone recently suggested posting addresses with spaces to break them up, that they'll actually post this way and you just remove the spaces again when you copy/paste the information into your browser.

www.cakuni. com/ sots/ roninfaq. txt – This is an AWESOME (and warning: LONG) in-depth essay on the series, the characters, the episodes, even the mysticism and folklore behind many of its plot and design elements. Very much worth at least a glance-over if you're at all interested. (_EDIT AGAIN: this is a new web address, located after Angel girl89 was good enough to point out that the previous link is no longer a good one_.)

www. amandaswiftgold .com/ronins/roninindex. htm – Here's the homepage for Amanda's fanfiction site.

www .amandaswiftgold .com/ronins/fics/minuit/dust .htm - Minuit's "Angel Dust"

www .amandaswiftgold .com/ronins/fics/icewyche/Orpheus .htm – Icewyche's "Orpheus"

Hn . . . well, heck, while we're at it - www .yu-jyo .net/ - the AWESOME Yu-Gi-Oh! episode summery website I mentioned in the last file.


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